


bruised peaches

by jellyprince (tricycleamoving)



Series: what we lose in flowers, we gain in fruits [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: M/M, Minor Violence, One Fruit Innuendo, Spies & Secret Agents, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:29:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricycleamoving/pseuds/jellyprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wait, wait, hold on.” Yoongi says, scrunching his eyebrows as he downs another cup of sludgy coffee, “Let me get this straight. You’re saying that this pink dude almost managed to deck our resident stealth specialist in the face?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Jimin chimes in, shrugging, “Dunno how, but he did. Maybe he secretly pumps mad iron or something.”</p><p>“It was an accident, really.” Jungkook replies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> tadah a sequel to crack spy au with an equally as cracky ship!!!! except this one got kinda serious whoops. please ship kookhoon with me there's only 3 fics in the tag (including mine) and im so desperate .
> 
> shoutout to sui for organising the event that got me writing a fic that eventually became this monstrosity of a trilogy, and to tea for yelling with me about kookhoon even though we've had to keep things halal and she probably won't see this until after eid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings in this chapter: swearing, mentions of exhibitionism (nothing actually happens, Park Jimin is just implied to be a nasty man), invasion of privacy (Jimin looks Jungkook's phone w/o his permission, idk if this counts as a warning but just in case), espionage.
> 
> (On warnings for the second chapter: i won't go into much right now, but please note that there will be violence and description of injuries/wounds that is a result of that violence. I'm not super sure if it's graphic enough to warrant the 'graphic depictions of violence' tag, but please be careful! I'll add more specific warnings when chapter 2 is out.)

"Alright, what's up?" Jimin huffs, awkwardly pressing into his arm as even more people squish into the train compartment, "You've checked the time on your phone twenty times since we entered the train. You going somewhere special?"

"No." Jungkook mutters, subtly shifting his feet a few centimeters to the left right as the person next to him starts loudly preaching about the Lord our God and all that good shit. Jesus Christ, this wasn't what he needed today.

"Wow, that's loud." Jimin mutters, slowly craning his neck (Jimin accidentally smacked someone right in the head the last time he tried to make a sudden movement on the Metro. Jungkook just stood there and laughed) to look at the map, "At least we're only two stations away from Dongdaemun."

"Anyway, you're acting sketchier than usual, which is saying something." Jimin continues, squinting at him, "Let me guess: you've been hiding a secret romantic partner from us and you're late to your rendezvous?"

"What, no," Jungkook says, bestowing upon Jimin a look he likes to call the _What the fuck, Jimin_ look, "I'm not you, Jimin."

"First of all that's Jimin- _hyung_ to you, Jeon Jungkookie," Jimin huffs out, "and second of all: really? Damn, I thought your life would be as interesting as mine, for once."

"I don't know if making out with our boss's younger brother in increasingly public places counts as 'interesting'," Jungkook says, "but it's alright. I'm good with not almost-dying every time I get sent out on a mission."

Really. Jungkook's not the type who judges people’s life choices, but he's judging Jimin's. Just a little bit. Actually, he’s judging him a lot.

" _Excuse me_ , brat-" Jimin starts.

"Oh-look-we're-at-Dongdaemun-cool-let's-go." Jungkook hastily says, before grabbing Jimin's arm and dragging him out, braving the sea that is the Seoul rush hour traffic. Oh god, so many people, so many extra appendages that might hit him in the face, or worse: start reciting scripture at him. Rush hour is terrifying.

(Unfortunately, it isn't as terrifying as asking Namjoon for a pay raise, so he and Jimin end up fighting the crowds daily).

It usually goes like this: The two of them take the metro from their office to Dongdaemun together every Friday night after work. Sometimes they go get a drink together. Sometimes Jimin has a date or a tearful family reunion or something equally as dramatic and they go their own separate ways. They weren't supposed to get a drink today.

They also just walked past Jimin's usual exit.

"Are you following me?" Jungkook asks, his trademarked (he actually did register for one- it’s pending) _What the fuck, Jimin_ expression back on his face when he turns back to find Jimin still there, approximately two civilians behind.

"No," Jimin yells back, looking too innocent to actually be telling the truth, "I'm just going this way today."

Jungkook walks faster.

So the thing is... Jimin's not actually wrong about him hiding something. Sort of. Well okay, he's around seventy percent wrong, but there's a remaining thirty percent of truth in there. He may not have a secret lover, but he does actually have places to be. Jimin just _really_ doesn't need to know about that last part. He's never going to live it down, not after how he's teased Jimin about Taehyung every single day ever since the two of them started dating.

"Hey, wait up!" Jimin yells, now four civilians behind him, "Your legs are longer than mine, goddammit."

"Leave me alone, hyung!" Jungkook replies, speed-walking the _shit_ outta there. The bomb threat in the workplace already had him arriving at Dongdaemun two hours late. He's not going to let Jimin slow him down even more.

"You called me hyung, holy shit!" Jimin yells, incredulous and rapidly advancing like a cheetah locked onto its prey, except instead of being hungry, the cheetah was just an incredibly nosy bastard. And a pain in the ass. "You must _really_ not want me to know what you're doing."

He tunes Jimin out.

At this point it'd be wiser to just ignore Jimin. Who knows what else he might accidentally give away? Anyway, he has a destination in mind, and he needs to get there ASAP. Jungkook needs to get there before they close up for the day. Jungkook needs to see-

Jungkook needs to see him again.

He dashes up the stairs, taking them two at a time, ignoring Jimin's angry yells behind him. The civilians around him clearly have more sense than Jimin, since they give way a little, parting like the Red Sea (if the Red Sea was like. a meter wide) when Jungkook barrels through. He's so close, and the moment he steps onto the platform he knows he's there.

"Jungkook, what the _fuck_." Jimin pants, having caught up to him, "What was the point of running to the other line when we were at the exit?"

Jungkook looks around, his heart starting to plummet.

They're not here.

He was too late. They left already.

"Earth to Jeon Jungkookie," Jimin says, waving a hand in front of his face, "this really isn't the best place to have a meltdown."

"Shut up, Park Jiminnie." Jungkook says, eyes still glued to the empty space in front of him, "Let me angst in peace."

"I still have no idea what's going on, but okay." Jimin says.

"Uh, excuse me-" someone says, startling Jungkook out of his mini internal breakdown spiral with a tap to his arm. Jungkook startles, hastily turning to face them.

("Woah, where did you even come from." Jimin mutters.)

Short fluffy pink hair, silver circular glasses and soft pink lips. An awkward and hesitant smile below round eyes and a pointy nose. A guitar case slung on his back and a large wooden chest with wires spilling out of it on the floor. Jungkook gapes- it's... it's _him_.

It's _Woozi._

"I, uh- ah, hello?" Jungkook manages to spit out, feeling his face rapidly heat up.

"I don't know if you remember me but uh. I just wanted to say sorry for last week." Woozi says, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Uh, l-last week?" Jungkook says, eyes wide. He doesn't know what to do with himself. Does he just stand there? Go in for a handshake? A bow? A hug? His hands are trembling so he clenches his fists, hoping that he doesn't come off as angry or anything. That's the last thing he wants.

"When I accidentally... y'know," Woozi says, "almost punched you in the face."

("Uh, is this supposed to be romantic." Jimin mutters, but neither of them pay any attention to him.)

"Oh. Oh! Oh, that." Jungkook says, almost choking on his spit in his haste to speak, "That's fine, you didn't actually punch me so it's fine."

"That doesn't mean it's okay that you almost got hurt." Woozi argues, before hastily shoving something at his chest. Jungkook, being the super amazing secret agent that he is, only barely manages to catch it before Woozi lets go. He looks down.

It's a nicely wrapped box, complete with a red bow and a tag that reads "To the guy I accidentally almost punched in the face on the metro steps: I'm really sorry, please accept this gift as an apology. - Jihoon".

Jungkook hasn't even opened it, but he's sure it's the best present he's ever received in his life.

"Thank you- I mean, apology accepted?" Jungkook says, clutching the box to his chest. "You really didn't need to do this, uh, Jihoon-hyung."

"It's fine, uhm." Woozi- no, _Jihoon_ says, before awkwardly pausing and looking up at Jungkook.

Jungkook stares. Hard.

Jimin elbows Jungkook in the ribs. Hard.

"Ow!" Jungkook yelps, before turning back to Jihoon, "Jeon Jungkook- is my name. Yeah. My name."

"Lee Jihoon.” Jihoon says, lips curling into the most beautiful smile he's ever seen in his twenty years of existence, "Anyway, Jungkook and uh. His friend. I just wanted to stop by and apologize so... yeah. I'm gonna go now. Bye."

Before Jungkook can even respond, Jihoon's picked up his wooden chest, hastily retreating with a quick bow. Jungkook's heart soars.

Jihoon-hyung got him a _gift_.

Best. Day. Ever.

"Hey," Jimin says, poking him in the ribs, "are you gonna go help him or what? He's like, super tiny, I don't know if he can lift that giant chest for long by himself."

"He seems to be doing just fine though." Jungkook remarks. It's true. Jihoon's carrying the box out the exit like it's air.

"That's not what- Look. You are obviously _gone_ for the pink dude and he's obviously at least starting to really, really, _really_ like you." Jimin says, which what the fuck.

"Uh, we were both there when he awkwardly introduced himself and then ran off, right?" Jungkook says, "He was just being nice."

"And his ears were pink the _entire time._ " Jimin says, "Jeon Jungkookie, I don't know anything about this dude except that he has horrible taste in men ( _"Hey!" Jungkook says_ ), but I can tell using my super amazing secret agent powers he likes you. Swear to god. Go talk to him."

"Really?" Jungkook asks, his eyes sparkling like a really shiny jewel, which meant there was a ridiculous amount of sparkling going on there, "He does?"

"Oh my god, _yes_." Jimin groans, before pushing him in the direction Jihoon left, watching as Jungkook chases after him.

"He's really fucking hopeless, isn't he." Jimin says, sighing.

 

* * *

 

(“Wait, wait, hold on.” Yoongi says, scrunching his eyebrows as he downs another cup of sludgy coffee, “Let me get this straight. You’re saying that this pink dude almost managed to deck our resident stealth specialist in the face?”

“Yeah.” Jimin chimes in, shrugging, “Dunno how, but he did. Maybe he secretly pumps mad iron or something.”

“It was an accident, really.” Jungkook replies, cheeks flushing pink (though whether from embarrassment or something else, he doesn’t know) as he looks down into his coffee mug, “He was leaving the station when I noticed that he left his wallet behind, so I picked it up and ran after him. I guess I was so stealthy that he didn’t notice me until I tapped him on the shoulder, then he turned around and almost punched me in the face.”

“And this pink dude is a…?” Yoongi says, trailing off as he waits for Jungkook to fill in the blanks.

“He’s a musician who busks at Dongdaemun with his friend every Friday.” Jungkook replies, before perking up, “Wait, Yoongi-hyung, you like music and stuff, right? The two of them, Jihoon-hyung and Hoshi-nim, they’re really good! They have a youtube channel and vlogs on producing music and other cool things, I can give you the link if you want.”

“Sure, kid. Just give me the link, I’ll go check ‘em out later when Jimin has to go deal with JungCorp again and gets himself into trouble.” Yoongi says, holding out his hand so Jungkook can scribble the url on his arm with a sharpie, “But let’s get back on track here. So what happened after? Did you get his number?” )

 

* * *

 

“You really don’t have to do this, you know.” Jihoon says, fiddling with the wrapped present, back in his hands as Jungkook carries his wooden chest for him, the two of them stepping out of the station.

“It’s okay, hyung!” Jungkook replies, smiling at Jihoon, “You always work hard, so I want to help.”

“So you’re a fan.” Jihoon says, lips quirking upwards in the most subtle way at Jungkook’s pink cheeks, softly chuckling at how he almost drops the chest on his own feet. “Were you looking for us back at the platform?”

“N-no!” Jungkook says, his palms becoming suspiciously sweaty as his face continues to pinken at an alarming rate, “I mean- uh, not that I don’t like your music, Jihoon-hyung! I think you’re really, really, _really_ talented and you and Hoshi-nim write such compelling music that I try my best to drop by every week and I uh- um. It was just coincidence that I was there…”

“Every week, huh.” Jihoon says, smiling wide enough that his dimples start showing (Jungkook stares and almost trips over a rock. Jihoon laughs), “Thanks. It’s rare for Soonyoung and I to have such dedicated listeners at the metro, though he’d probably have a field day at being called ‘Hoshi-nim’.”

“Ah, should I address him as Soonyoung-hyung, then?” Jungkook asks, tilting his head. It feels a little weird, especially since he’s never spoken to the man in person.

“Do whatever you want, Jungkook.” Jihoon says, the fabric of his oversized sweater bunching up as he shrugs, “He’ll be insufferable either way, the bastard.”

It’s rare for Jungkook to hear the word ‘bastard’ being used as a term of endearment, but somehow it doesn’t seem as strange coming from Jihoon’s pretty, pretty lips. Maybe he’s just biased.

“Are you and Hoshi-nim close?” Jungkook asks.

“Eh, I guess you can say that.” Jihoon replies, scratching at the back of his head, “Soonyoung and I have been friends for a couple of years now, and we’re roommates along with another old friend of ours. We’ve been through a lot together.”

“Oh.” Jungkook says, “That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it sounds cool until you have to deal with five years of farting and no one doing the dishes.” Jihoon says, snorting before slyly looking at Jungkook. “Why’d you ask? You interested in Soonyoung?”

“W-what, no!” Jungkook blurts out, eyes wide, “You’re the only one I like, hyung!”

Jungkook freezes. Oh, _shit_.

Jihoon bursts out into laughter, shoulders shaking as he folds into himself, the guitar strapped to his back bobbing up and down. If he weren’t so preoccupied with wishing that the ground could swallow him up whole right then and there, he would probably do something even more embarrassing, like hug Jihoon or fall to his knees and propose marriage with a nearby rock or something. Maybe it was a good thing that he was too embarrassed to function right now.

“Oh my god, you’re not _serious_ , are you?” Jihoon chokes out, laughter only subsiding when he realises that Jungkook’s being awfully silent, slowly trickling down into an awkward sort of cough, “Oh. You are.”

“It’s not funny, hyung.” Jungkook pouts, shoulders slumping as he shuffles forwards, “I really, really, _really_ like you.”

“Like, _really_ really?” Jihoon sputters out, looking at Jungkook with incredulous disbelief. It annoys Jungkook a little, if only because it shouldn’t come as a surprise that someone could like as perfect and beautiful a person as Jihoon, even if the person in question who’s surprised is Jihoon himself.

“Yeah, like _really_ really. Super really. Carly Rae Jepsen levels of really.” Replies Jungkook, nodding enthusiastically.

“But… _why_?” Jihoon asks, sounding like they were debating the existence of mole men instead of Jihoon’s (apparently nonexistent) love life.

“What do you mean _why_?” Jungkook replies, “You’re really smart, you’re really attractive, and it’s clear that you really love what you do! You work really hard, probably to the point of exhaustion, and you secretly care for people even if you try to come off like you don’t. What’s there _not_ to like?”

“Are you kidding me? I’m extremely cranky, insufferable in the mornings and I lash out at people under extreme pressure! I don’t like being around people, and I treat my juniors like absolute shit sometimes, why would anyone like _me_?” Jihoon argues, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, before narrowing his eyes, “Wait, how did you know that I work to the point of exhaustion? And that I secretly care for people? We just formally met.”

“I haven’t seen eye bags that pronounced since I went to law school, hyung.” Jungkook huffs, before gesturing (as best as he could with a giant chest in his hands, so really he just shook the chest in his general direction) to the present in Jihoon’s hands, “And you got a complete stranger an apology gift for almost punching them, even though it was done out of self-defence. If that doesn’t scream ‘secretly caring’ then I don’t know what does.

“But that’s besides the point.” Jungkook continues, staring Jihoon down in defiance, “I like you, hyung, and I’m not gonna stop liking you just because you don’t like yourself. I wanna go out with you, hyung.”

Jihoon stares, looking at him in a way that makes him feel like he’s coming undone, something unreadable in his eyes. It’s not the kind of stare that’s threatening (like when Jungcorp security guards stare him down, trying to tear his disguise apart and reduce him to puzzle pieces with their eyes), but it’s piercing, as if he’s seeing something that he didn’t expect to be there, something that makes him want to look at it even more. It’s piercing enough to make Jungkook wonder if Jihoon had always been a musician (it doesn’t make him like Jihoon any less).

Despite Jihoon’s gaze though, his ears are flushed pink, like a peach. It’s adorable.

“...Two months.” Jihoon says, eventually. Jungkook blinks.

“Two months?” He parrots back, confused.

“Be my friend for two months,” Jihoon says, “Then ask me again.”

“Is this your way of telling me that I'll get sick of you in a few months?” Jungkook asks, “‘Cause it's not gonna happen.”

“Two months,” Jihoon says again, huffing, “Then we'll talk.”

 

* * *

 

(“Then I walked him back to his apartment, we exchanged numbers and he texted me while I walked back home.” Jungkook says, nodding sagely.

“The two of you seriously just stood there and argued about whether the pink dude was likeable? And you still managed to get his number?” Yoongi asks, looking at Jungkook as if he had grown two heads, “What kind of a love story _is_ this.”

“Well I mean it’s not exactly love-” Jungkook starts.

“What _I_ want to know is what was in the gift box.” Jimin says, leaning against the pantry table, “Pink dude doesn't strike me as the most sentimental of people. Even if he is kinda nice. Sorta. Eh, it's debatable.”

“Ah, it was a small stuffed toy?” Jungkook replies, scratching at the back of his head, “The whole thing was white like a mochi, with this cute squinty face and a leaf thing on both sides of its face.”

“I bet Jungkookie secretly cuddles it to sleep.” Jimin teases.

“I do _not_!” Jungkook says.

(He totally does.)

“He totally does.” Yoongi replies, smirking and pointing to his phone on the pantry table when it buzzes. “Is that him?”

“Wha-” Jungkook says, lunging for his phone before either Yoongi or Jimin get to it. Alas, he fails and Hollywood Superspy Park Jimin somehow manages to snatch it up before he can, despite the fact that being the stealth specialist should've given him an advantage. Maybe he's growing rusty.

“Heh,” Jimin says, typing in his passcode and unlocking his phone (because _of course_ Jimin knew his passcode. He knew everyone's passcodes, for some reason), “what's this? One new message from… oh my god. Hyung, look at this!”

“Woah, slow down, Jiminnie.” Yoongi says, leaning over to read the screen when Jimin all but shoves it in his face, “One new message from… cute peach emoji hyung? And then something about muses, whatever. Seriously, Jungkookie, the peach emoji?”

“I _told_ you, his ears were all pink like a peach! It was cute.” Jungkook mumbles, burying his face in his hands, his cheeks burning like a furnace.

 

(“Mm, I'm sure that's not the only peach he wants a bite of.” Jimin says, typing into the phone.

Yoongi and Jungkook both ignore him.)

 

“Did you tell him about the cute peach emoji thing?” Yoongi asks.

“No,” Jungkook mumbles, “he'd probably kill me.”

“Well it was nice knowing you then, Jeon Jungkookie.” Jimin says, grinning mischievously  as he tosses his phone back to him.

His phone starts buzzing repeatedly, each buzz somehow sounding crankier than the last one.

“You're paying for my funeral, Park Jimin.” Jungkook deadpans.

Ah, Jihoon-hyung’s gonna kill him.

 

* * *

 

 **_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _are u saying u want to be my muse or something, heh_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _ooooo: is this the infamous pink dude who almost punched jungkookie in the face???? the one he has a really embarrassing crush on?????  
__jsyk jungkookie has u labeled as cute *peach emoji* hyung on his phone_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _what_  
_are u serious_  
_jeon jungkook_  
_give me your location right now_  
_I'm going to fight u_  
_wait are u saying that I have a cute ass_  
_because thanks  
__but ur still dead brat_

 

* * *

 

**_iron jeon  
_** _hyung_  
_hyung  
_ _hyung_

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _what_

  ** _iron jeon  
_**_*peach emoji*_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_**_wow u rly wanna die huh_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _ah but ur cute when ur angry hyung  
__hehehe_  

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _why are u such a brat_  
_also I'm not cute_  
_but thanks_  
_ur also cute I guess_  
_sometimes  
_ _like maybe 17% of the time_

 

* * *

 

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _hey_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _hyung!!!!_  
_its 3am what r u doin_  
_wait i forgot u dont sleep  
__*skull emoji*_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _I made something can u listen and tell me if it's good_  
_also what are U doing up at 3am_  
_don't u have a curfew or sth  
__[RECEIVED: rjdksjdkd.mp3]_  

**_iron jeon  
_** _hehe i was thinking about u hyung so i couldnt sleep  
_ _*peach emoji*_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _ur gross_  
_and my hair isn't even pink anymore  
__anyway go listen and tell me what u think_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _ok hyung!!!!_  
_ah wait gimme a few minutes i need to go deal with sth  
__then ill listen!!! brb heh_  

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _I'll be waiting_

 

* * *

 

Jungkook pockets his phone. Yoongi’s back on the feed, clicking away on his mouse. He huffs softly, resting his head against the metal of the small vent. God, he hates vents.

“ _Alright, 30 seconds till the security guards switch shifts_. _After Jimin’s stunt last month they've really upped their security._ ” Yoongi says, voice crackly in his ear, “ _You'll have a five minute window to sneak in and steal and delete as much info from their drive as possible._ ”

He taps against his microphone. Three long taps followed by another long one, a short one and a long one again. _Taap taap taap, taap tap taap._

_O-K._

Jungkook sighs as he counts the seconds down in his head. He just wanted to listen to Jihoon's song, but JungCorp just _had_ to have been shitty at three in the morning. What assholes.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Jungkook slides out of the vent, landing on the floor with a near-inaudible _thud_.

Showtime.

 

* * *

 

 **_iron jeon  
_** _omg hyung that was so good_  
_i almost cried  
__yoongi hyung laughed at me_  

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _what the fuck_  
_it's been two hours where have u been  
_ _also what're u doing w/ yoongi hyung at 5am_

**_iron jeon  
_** _awwwwww is hyung jealous_  
_did u stay up for 2 hrs to wait for my reply????  
_ _*kissy face emoji*_

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _ew no  
_ _I'm going to sleep bye_

**_iron jeon  
_** _but rly it was super good tho_  
_wait_  
_wait did u actually wait 2 hrs_  
_wait hyung_  
_hyung  
_ _hyung come back_

 

* * *

 

 **_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_**_ur #teamironman?_  

**_iron jeon  
_** _uh yeah obviously_  
_tony starks the best_  
_my idol my hero my angel  
_ _team iron man all the way_

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _huh  
_ _cool I guess I just didn't peg u as the type_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _whyd u ask tho_  
_wait_  
_wait wait hyung  
__don't tell me…_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _what  
__??????_

  ** _iron jeon  
_**_ur team cap?????_

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _uh yeah I guess  
_ _I mean I liked him better in the movie?_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _hyung_  
_im sorry we cant be friends anymore  
__i cant believe uve betrayed me like this_  

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _jeon jungkook that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard today  
_ _and I had to listen to seungcheollie and soonyoungie try and talk a spider into eating cake today_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _its like_  
_im romeo and ur juliet hyung_  
_except with teamcap and teamironman_  
_and less death  
__also the hulk is there_  

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _ur so weird_  
_ur lucky ur cute_  
_also I'm not juliet  
_ _I've known u for more than 3 days, duh_

  ** _iron jeon  
_**_omg_

 

* * *

 

**_iron jeon  
_** _hyung_  
_hyung_  
_hyung_  
_jihoon hyung_  
_*peach emoji*_  
_*peach emoji*  
_ _hyung_

**_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _what_  
_jeon jungkook_  
_it's 7am  
_ _this better be important_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _it is!!!!  
__its friday!!!_

 **_cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _what_  
_did u wake me up at 7:09am just to tell me that it's a friday  
__do u wanna die_  

**_iron jeon  
_** _hyuuuuung_  
_did u forget  
_ _i cant believe u_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_** _?????????_  
_u know I'm bad with dates_  
_is it ur birthday_  
_do I have to buy a cake_  
_what kind of cake do u like  
__?????_

  ** _iron jeon  
_** _no no its not my bday_  
_(but i like rainbow cake!)_  
_its just_  
_uh  
__its been two months, jihoon hyung_

  ** _cute *peach emoji* hyung  
_**_oh_  

**_iron jeon  
_** _grab dinner with me tonight?_

 

* * *

 

Jungkook waits.

He waits and waits and waits, dress shirt freshly ironed and his glass of water freshly refilled. The seat opposite his remains empty, the cutlery on the table still resting atop a crisp napkin.

The filet mignon he orders arrives, and he scarfs it down alone.

Two months, and Jungkook never once got sick of Jihoon. _Perhaps_ , Jungkook thinks, _Jihoon got sick of me instead_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 won't let me type emojis and im mad, also i have no idea how to tag this fic, please send help.
> 
> chapter 2 coming soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, chapter two is done! 
> 
> warnings for chapter two: descriptions of violence (I don't think it's graphic enough to warrant the tag, but if you do please tell me and I'll add it immediately!), kidnapping, implied physical abuse/violence (so yes it's both actually described and implied), swearing, one use of the word 'b*tch'. Also breaking of the fourth wall?

Jimin brings him coffee that morning. Cream and two sugars, dark roast, just like he likes it.

The meeting room is surprisingly sombre today, the only noise coming from Yoongi, who’s typing into his personal laptop like his life depends on it. Jungkook hasn’t seen much of him lately, Yoongi being too immersed in what seems to be a personal project (or a top secret mission for Namjoon, same thing) to really show up at work. This monthly meeting is the first time he’s seen him since he scribbled down Jihoon and Soonyoung’s youtube channel on his arm with a scratchy sharpie.

Speaking of which.

“You alright?” Jimin asks, slipping into the seat next to his. Jungkook hasn’t told anyone at work what happened between him and Jihoon, but Jimin just _knows_. He always does. It’s probably part of his Hollywood Super Spy starter pack.

Jungkook shrugs.

“I’ll get over it.” He says. Dear god, he hopes so.

He checks his phone- no new messages. Seven days of radio silence from Jihoon since he got stood up at the fancy French restaurant. If Jihoon wasn’t an extremely solitary person (and also ruthlessly capable of taking care of himself, despite the fact that he’s notoriously cranky in the mornings and forgets to eat sometimes. It’s a habit they’ve developed, where Jihoon would talk him through his shitty nightmares because Jihoon doesn’t sleep, and he’d remind Jihoon to sleep, eat, function like a human instead of a robot. It was good. They were good), he would be worried.

“Where’s Taehyung?” Jungkook asks. It's rare for him to be absent, especially after he took over comms once Yoongi stopped coming in to work.

“Art final.” Jimin sighs, sipping from his fancy Starbucks frappuccino in a way that can only be described as lamentably tragic, like that one painting of the sad doctor with the foxglove and the books. “Literally the last thing separating him from his Masters.”

“Aw, is Park Jimin missing his routine office makeout?” Jungkook says. He's glad- the last thing he needs right now is Jimin trying to suck face with Taehyung right before a meeting. What an exhibitionist.

Jimin nods, sighing wistfully into his coffee.

“Gross.” Jungkook says. He’s suddenly struck with the urge to get up and sit next to Yoongi.

But then Namjoon strides in, and the meeting begins.

“JungCorp’s planning something big,” Namjoon says, “bigger than anything we’ve had to thwart before.”

“Oh shit.” Jimin whispers.

“Thanks to Jimin and Jungkook, we have some idea of what they’re planning, but we don’t have all the facts just yet.” Namjoon says, before nodding at Yoongi. With a click of his mouse, Yoongi pulls up the usual monthly meeting powerpoint (Yoongi’s the type who swears by Prezi, but Namjoon made him drop it after they unanimously decided that Prezi was only used by high schoolers and overachieving business students trying to impress their bosses on the first day of their internships), this time with less ironic vaporwave wordart and more serious data. “The data we’ve stolen seems to suggest at some sort of extortion plot… We’ve also decrypted blueprints of some new tech they’re working on with the help of Unit M, but since the copy we obtained was incomplete, we don’t know if it’s relevant to the extortion or not.”

“Right now we have way too little information to expose or thwart them- Since JungCorp’s a tech firm, they’re just going to argue that they’re just working on another technological advancement.” Yoongi says.

“Exactly, which is why we need to act fast.” Namjoon continues, “We’ll need more evidence to present a convincing case to the Council. They're not just going to take the word of the subunit of a subunit, no matter how pressing the issue.”

(“Fuckin’ red tape.” Yoongi mutters under his breath. How the hell Yoongi’s managed to do his job so far without starting some sort of spy agency coup against the spy agency bureaucracy, Jungkook doesn't know.)

Yoongi pulls up a map of JungCorp’s main headquarters, a map everyone from their small boutique subunit-of-a-subunit spy agency are unfortunately intimately familiar with.

“Right now we’ve been able to buy some time as we’ve deleted the information we’ve stolen from their drives, but we- uh. Hold on.” Yoongi says, brows furrowing as he clicks. The screen starts to glitch out, black pixels dotting the screen like a murder of crows. He checks the terminal, typing in a few keywords before groaning in frustration. “ _Fuck_ , someone’s hacking into our system.”

“They’re not trying to steal any data or anything, it’s just… it’s just a live video feed.” Yoongi says, voice incredulous, keyboard clacking as he types furiously, “Do you want me to let it play? I’ll try and track the signal location.”

“Do it.” Namjoon says. Yoongi stops typing, deletes his script and starts a new one, lets the intruder play their feed.

The screen cuts to black. A voice, filtered and distorted, speaks.

**_“GIVE BACK WHAT YOU STOLE.”_ **

The video changes, as if someone is pulling a thick black cloth off a camera. A figure is tied to a chair, arms and legs bound with thick rope that Jungkook _knows_ will chafe in the worst ways possible. Their hair is matted and greasy, fading pink locks clumping together. Jungkook’s heart sinks into his stomach. The bound victim looks up.

“Jihoon-hyung.” Jungkook whispers, eyes wide and fists clenched. He slowly rises from his seat, his coffee sitting cold and untouched on the table. His mind is blank, and for a second all he can see is the glint of a cold metal fork, resting on a napkin in a fancy French restaurant without an owner. Yoongi types so fast it sounds like his fingers might fly off the keyboard at any moment.

“Jungkook?” Jihoon rasps out. His face is bruised, red on his cheeks like someone had just punched him there a minute ago. Flecks of blood linger on the edges of his mouth like gruesome polka dots. “Jungkook, is that- shit _listentome_ , use the carat cipher, I don't know where I am but if you use it you'll-”

A fist punches Jihoon so hard his chair topples over. For a moment, the sound of wood hitting concrete resonates throughout the room, echoing. And then, silence.

**_“THREE HOURS. PROPERTY FOR PROPERTY. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.”_ **

Jihoon surfaces eventually, the stranger pulling him up by his hair, gripping so tight it hurts to look. Jihoon spits at his feet.

“Is that the best you can do, you fucking bastard? Call a man someone else's property? I’ve seen worse.” Jihoon snarls, before turning to look into the screen, eyes burning with a fire that he has never seen before. “It's obviously a trap, brat. Don't come after me. They have basic cable here, I'll be fine. Remember this: The mistress which I serve quickens what’s dead, and all which it inherit, shall dissolve-”

Then Jihoon goes down again, the crunch of fist against bone so loud that even Namjoon flinches. Jungkook can barely respond before the feed goes blank, and the map of JungCorp HQ is back on screen.

“ _Shit_ , they cut the signal too fast!” Yoongi growls out, frantically typing as he tries to salvage the situation. It doesn't work. “I think I have a general area, but it's too big for us to pinpoint a definite location in three hours.”

“What did your maybe-boyfriend say again, Jungkook?” Namjoon says, frowning as he stares at the screen, “The… carat cipher?”

“What's a carat cipher?” Jimin asks, “It sounds like a ridiculously extreme type of code or script or deus ex machina.”

“‘Cause it is.” Yoongi says, still typing as his computer bleeps and bloops in ways that Jungkook will probably never understand, “The carat cipher was the last part of an extremely complex piece of code created by a now defunct spy faction. It's all very hush-hush, no one really knows exactly what it does, but it's rumoured to be guarding one of the most thorough surveillance systems in all of Korea.”

“Let me guess,” Jimin sighs, “It's near-impossible to crack.”

“Nope. It’s outright impossible.” Yoongi says. “Since it’s based off the vernam cipher, it’s uncrackable unless we have the OTP code… What did you say your boyfriend does for a living again, Jungkook?”

“Uh,” Jungkook squeaks, “He's a musician?”

“Musicians don't just casually namedrop the carat cipher.” Namjoon says, his brain probably running a thousand miles an hour, “Either way, he's a civilian in danger, and we need to track him down as soon as possible. If he wanted us to crack the cipher, he must've dropped a hint somewhere.”

  


(Once, Jihoon brought him to a library. He remembers the way Jihoon walked, with purpose, head held high and back straight, arms swinging so stiffly that Jungkook almost wanted to grease his elbows with oil, like Dorothy did to the Tin Woodman in the Wizard of Oz. His hands were soft, though, when he pulled the old dusty paperback off the shelf, the pages a stark yellow against his pale skin. Jungkook remembers wanting to hold them. Jihoon flipped the pages so quietly even Jungkook’s ears had to strain to hear it, the dust from the pages suspended in mid-air like an ancient cluster of stars.

The flipping stopped eventually, and Jungkook watched as Jihoon ran his fingers down the page, tracing the curves and edges of the verses with a reverence and a terror that he can almost sympathize with. Jihoon’s voice was soft, respectful, bitter. He read the words like broken scripture.

Sometimes, Jungkook wonders what happened to Jihoon to make him like this, but Jihoon never tells and Jungkook never pushes. It’s not right to push, not when Jihoon still thinks Jungkook’s just another law student turned overachieving social worker. He settles for brushing their shoulders together instead.)

  


“The Tempest.” Jungkook says. Everyone turns to look at him, but all Jungkook can think of is the hesitant smile on Jihoon’s face when he handed the book to him, pressed it into his arms. “That’s what he quoted before… before the feed ended. Shakespeare’s Tempest.”

“Okay, a quick google search should get us the quote we’re looking for.” Namjoon says, pulling out his work phone. “What did he say… the mistress… Ah, here we go: The mistress which I serve quickens what’s dead and makes my labours pleasures. Huh. The second part is from another verse: all which it inherit, shall dissolve.”

“The encrypted key to the carat cipher is seventy four numbers long.” Yoongi says, typing into his personal laptop. “If we put the two quotes together without any spaces, just like how he read it in the feed… seventy four characters. Holy _shit_.”

Yoongi plugs his personal computer into the system, and the screen fills up with indecipherable numbers, letters and characters. The two quotes from The Tempest sit in a separate window, and Jungkook watches as Yoongi inputs them into the program, watches as he does his weird coding magic while mumbling about encryption keys and conversion algorithms. Coding, Jungkook decides, looks way cooler in movies. At least the background music makes it more exciting, more intense. Standing here watching Yoongi write in his terminal is twenty eight percent waiting, seventy percent praying, two percent elevator music.

Jungkook counts the seconds in his mind- it’s the only thing preventing his legs from giving way, from him wanting to curl up into a ball and cry. Six hundred seconds since he last saw Jihoon. Six hundred and one. Six hundred and two. Even though he’s counting up, it feels like he’s counting down instead. To what, he doesn’t know. To his eventual monthly breakdown? To rescuing Jihoon? To tracking Jihoon down only to find that it’s too late? Too many possibilities, too many alternatives. He continues to count.

At seven hundred and one seconds, Yoongi stops typing.

“It worked.” Yoongi breathes out, staring as a simple black window pops up on his screen, “Holy shit. We cracked the carat cipher.”

“So… what does it do?” Jimin asks, frowning as he stares at the blank window on the screen, “It doesn’t look like much, and we kinda need to find Jihoon as soon as possible.”

“Hold your horses, Jiminnie, it’s not activated yet.” Yoongi replies, clicking on the window and typing a line of code. He hits enter, and the screen turns green, slowly fading into a map of Seoul, resembling the satellite view function on Google Maps that nobody actually uses. A small red dot appears, right outside of Seoul. Yoongi clicks on it.

 _LEE JIHOON  
_ _CONDITION: ALIVE, STABLE_

“He's currently not in the city... looks like a deserted building somewhere in Gyeonggi-do. I can download the coordinates and pass them to whoever's going to retrieve him.” Yoongi says.

“I'm going after him.” Jungkook says, fists clenching at the thought of Jihoon being in JungCorp’s dirty claws for the past five days, treated like trash, like a piece of meat. “We can't afford for JungCorp to get those files back, and I'm not going to sit here and let Jihoon die. You know I have to do this.”

“Normally I wouldn't let you,” Namjoon says, handing him his earpiece, “but we need stealth right now and you're the best for the job, Jungkook. Go get your maybe-boyfriend back, kid.”

“Roger that, sir.” Jungkook says. He slides the earpiece into his ear, activates it with a touch.

“I've forwarded the coordinates to your phone.” Yoongi says, reaching into his backpack to fish for his headset. “Keep your headpiece on. I'll do some digital surveillance and brief you on the terrain while you make your way there.”

“Don't do anything I wouldn't, Jeon Jungkookie.” Jimin says, giving him the most reassuring smile he can give in a situation like this (so it just looks like a grimace instead, which Jungkook appreciates anyway. Jimin always has a way to make even the ugliest grimace kinda glitzy, anyway).

“That's really vague advice,” Jungkook says, “since you have a track record of doing pretty much everything. And also Taehyung. But thanks, hyung.”

One thousand eight hundred and thirty two seconds. It’s another eight thousand nine hundred and sixty eight seconds until Jihoon’s fate becomes uncertain.

Jungkook exhales. He can do this.

 

* * *

 

The thing about sneaking into smaller houses is that it's never as easy as it seems. As intimidating as large hotels and looming mansions are, the number of alternate routes, exits, hiding places, hell even _garbage chutes_ are greater, which means the probability of sneaking around unnoticed is exponentially higher. A small, abandoned house in the middle of nowhere? That requires more planning, more time.

It’s time that Jungkook doesn’t have, so he improvises.

He parks his car a distance away, reverses into the parking lot with a precision and a silence that's scary. That's how he knows he's a secret agent: normal people don't parallel park so effortlessly. It takes him exactly thirty-point-fifty-four seconds to get out of the car, take the necessary gear out from his trunk, lock the car and disappear from the parking lot. It takes him another three hundred and five seconds to sprint towards the house.

 

* * *

 

(“ _The area’s pretty much deserted, no houses or landmarks or stores nearby. You'd think someone would get suspicious of a random three storey house in the middle of nowhere, especially in a city, though._ ” Yoongi says as Jungkook breaks the speed limit on the highway, “ _Anyway. Two floors, one main entrance, one squeezy vent system. Cameras on each floor. It's your call._ ”

“Looks like the vent’s my best bet.” Jungkook remarks. “Can you disable the cameras?”

“ _No can do_.” Yoongi sighs, keyboard clacking away, “ _I've tried already, but whoever's in charge of tech in that house is clearly on a higher payroll than me (which is saying something). You'll just have to work fast and pray you don't get shot._ ”

“Great.” Jungkook grits out. No disabled cameras means more time lingering in the vents, scoping out the place from above, hoping that he chooses the right time to strike. He's dealt with worse, but those jobs didn't involve human lives, just the standard grab and go. Every second counts, ticking down like a timer on Jihoon’s life, and Jungkook can only hope that he makes the right call.

He has to, for Jihoon.

“ _I…Jungkook-ah, you’ve known Jihoon for what. Two months now?_ ” Yoongi asks, Jungkook frantically swerving between the lanes on the road, weaving in between the cars.

“Yeah. Two months.” Jungkook replies. He really doesn’t have time for this, but there’s something in the way Yoongi speaks that gives him pause, makes him lay off the pedal for a second. Jungkook isn’t the best at identifying Important Moments (that’s more of Jimin’s thing), but he’s pretty sure this constitutes as one.

“ _Do you think that’s enough?_ ” Yoongi asks, voice uncertain, a hesitancy in it that Jungkook rarely gets to hear. “ _To fall in love, I mean. Was two months enough for you to fall in love with Jihoon?_ ”

“I don’t know.” Jungkook says. It’s hard for him to push the words out of mouth, but he manages, eventually. “I don’t know if I’m in love with him.”

“ _But you’re so-_ ” Yoongi starts to say.

“I know. I’m a gigantic sap when it comes to him.” Jungkook says. It’s true: His heart always speeds up around Jihoon, his mere presence enough to send him into overdrive. He likes the faces Jihoon makes-  his happy one, his insulted one, his angry one, even the forced aegyo one that Seungcheol-hyung makes him do to get freebies. Jungkook likes the way he reads, the way he sings, the way he lets his roots show after being too lazy to dye his hair pink again. “But I don’t know if it’s love. Not yet. What I _do_ know is that I care. I care so much it’s a little scary, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Besides,” Jungkook says, “I don’t need to be in love with someone to help them out of a horrible situation.”

“ _Good enough, huh._ ” Yoongi says. He sounds pensive, but not distracted, as if he was saving the epiphany or mental breakdown for after, when Jihoon is safe. Jungkook appreciates the thoughtful gesture. “ _Take the next exit and keep going straight, I found a shortcut that’s being uploaded to your GPS now. I'll be with you every step of the way.”_ )

 

* * *

 

Jungkook really didn’t think he would spend his Friday afternoon crawling through a squeezy vent, trying his best not to make a sound when every exhale of his echoes as if he were in a cave, Min Yoongi’s voice blasting into his ear every step of the way. Sure, he’s done ridiculously weird and highly specific stealth jobs before, but it was a Universal Rule™ for Fridays to be an off-day. Fridays were for twiddling his thumbs in front of his desk, desperately waiting for the work day to be over so he can rush over to Dongdaemun and hear Jihoon play. Fridays were for teasing Jihoon and sending him Snow selfies. Fridays were for pulling pranks on Jimin with Taehyung, laughing when Jimin tries to throttle him and fails. Not this.

Fucking JungCorp. First they kidnap Jihoon, now they're messing with the natural order of the universe. No wonder why the tone of this chapter happens to be darker than usual (and eternally ping-ponging between absurd and serious every two paragraphs).

_Thud!_

A noise echoes through the vent, seemingly coming from one of the nearby rooms. Jungkook starts crawling in the general direction of the sound, whispering into his mic.

“You hear that?” Jungkook whispers.

“ _Loud and clear._ ” Yoongi says. “ _The cameras are still frustratingly unhackable, but at this point it’s not like we have much of a choice._ ”

Jungkook sighs, and starts to crawl faster. This is an absolutely horrible idea, but it’s their only option.

“Guess we gotta further the narrative somehow.” Jungkook mutters.

The thing Jungkook hates the most about vents is the fact that vents don't usually support, y’know, the weight of a human. Sure, JungCorp’s vents are pretty accessible, if only because the building is old as balls and their security on the bottom-to-mid levels suck hard ass, but most normal vents are squeezy and hot and gross. Air vents are designed to regulate air quality, not facilitate human passage.

Still, Jungkook is still _the_ stealth guy, arguably one of the best in business in all of Korea (like the rest of the team, his choice to stay in such a low ranking and low paying job was mostly because Namjoon was an Extremely Good Person). He hates vents, and they're annoying as hell (sometimes possibly fatal), but his skills are honed and his patience deadly. Most importantly, his instincts are never wrong.

The vent cover gives way easily, thank god. Jungkook doesn’t believe in super sophisticated weapons, and therefore never goes out on the field with the fancy laser pens or inflatable sock shields that Jimin so covets, so it's a relief when he lifts the vent cover and it gives way with minimum force. He doesn't want to spend twenty minutes punching a metal cover, thank you very much.

 _Whoever designed this safehouse did a horrible job,_ Jungkook thinks, setting the cover aside before quietly sliding through the opening into the room, _Why couldn't the same person be in charge of their main HQ? I'd sure love to have vent access to their upper floors._

The room is empty, devoid of any life except for a tiny potted plant in the corner, somehow still alive despite the fact that there are exactly zero windows in the room. He recognizes the lone chair sitting in the middle of the room- it's the same one Jihoon was strapped to mere hours ago. It's empty though, no sign of the ropes that bound him. He touches the seat. It's still warm.

Above him, a CCTV camera blinks red, on and off, on and off.

“Cameras are still on,” Jungkook whispers, staring into the camera, “but alarms aren't going off like they usually do at JungCorp.”

“ _Maybe they're on a toilet break?_ ” Yoongi offers.

“I hope they’re extremely constipated then.” Jungkook whispers. The camera continues to blink, silent.

He moves on. The cameras might be harmless for now, but he risks detection for every second he wastes standing around.

There are scuff marks on the ground, just about the length of the chair. This clearly isn't the room in the video feed, which means that someone must have knocked Jihoon down again. Or Jihoon might have knocked himself down.

Jungkook had always assumed that, between Jihoon and him, he was the one with the most secrets, what with the spying and infiltrating and JungCorp-foiling. But then Jihoon knew about the carat cipher, knew its password, knew that it would lead them to him. They've been hiding a lot of things, both of them.

Either way, Jihoon isn't here. The cameras still seem to be harmless, and there's nothing left in the room to really inspect. The only way left for him to proceed is through the main door.

The metal of the doorknob is warm to the touch, sticky in the way that it gets when a person flings open a door in great desperation. There’s hope yet, Jungkook thinks. He twists it slowly, soundlessly. The thing with doors is that they're finicky creatures- you never know if they'll creak or break or slam. He pushes the door open.

A fist flies out- Jungkook barely has time to think, swerving to the right before throwing his arm out, grabbing the assailant’s wrist with his hand. He can feel their pulse throb under his fingers, beating one-two, one-two.

Jungkook doesn't even need to look up. He could recognize those hands anywhere.

“Oh.” Jihoon says, slumping in relief, the smallest of fond smiles gracing his lips, “We’ve really got to stop meeting like this.”

Jihoon’s still beaten up, shiners on his cheeks and the lingering imprint of fingertips around his neck. He's alive though, and clearly not that badly injured if he can still throw a good punch.

“Thank god,” Jungkook breathes out, forsaking his stealth spy instincts for a second to pull Jihoon into a hug. Jihoon’s fingers curl against his back, pressing comfortably into the fabric of his shirt.

“I thought I'd told you not to come after me, brat.” Jihoon says, mumbling into Jungkook’s shoulder.

“I'm not exactly the obedient type, hyung.” Jungkook says. He's the first one to pull away, mostly because enemy territory isn't really the best place for a long and teary reunion- he’ll save it for when they're back at HQ, or over at Seokjin’s. Jihoon’s hands linger on his back, a warm presence even when they're no longer hugging.

“Don't worry about the people who took me in the first place, I've got them knocked out and tied up in one of the guest rooms.” Jihoon snorts, “Take away their guns and they're pretty much useless.”

“That's really not surprising.” Jungkook says, staring at the CCTV still trained on them, blinking…  

“ _We’re currently sending someone from Unit M to get the goons_ ,” Yoongi says. Christ, Jungkook almost forgot that he was there. “ _You two should head over to Seokjin-hyung’s first, though. Jihoon looks pretty beat up._ ”

“Gotcha.” Jungkook says, before turning to Jihoon, “Wanna get outta here? The cameras don't seem to be doing anything right now.”

“Sure,” Jihoon says, wincing a little as he shrugs, “I snooped around a little- there really doesn't seem to be anything other than that shitty video camera here. Cameras didn't do anything either when I was walking around.”

“We were joking when we said that whoever's on duty was on toilet break, but damn.” Jungkook says. “Must be one hell of a toilet break.”

“Hm, I guess.” Jihoon says, lips pursed as he looks at the cameras. Then, he strides to one of the far corners of the room and picks something up. Jungkook doesn't get to see what it is until Jihoon shuffles back.

“Really?” Jungkook asks, eyeing the small potted plant in Jihoon’s arms. Jihoon shrugs.

“We’ve bonded.” Jihoon deadpans. The potted plant looks half-dead, leaves drooping in a way that looks almost resigned, if plants could look resigned to their fate. Jihoon pats it like he would pat a cat, dog or pet rock.

“Hyung, it looks like it’s given up on life.” Jungkook points out. It really does.

“It’s not so bad.” Jihoon says, shrugging. “It’s been like this for a whole week now, probably even longer, and it hasn’t died. Sometimes that one dude would put out cigarette butts in the plant, but it’s a fighter, I guess. I respect that.”

Jungkook spots cigarette burns lining down Jihoon’s left arm and tries not to look too hard. He doesn't want to think about it too much.

“You’re not too badly injured, right?” Jungkook asks. Sure, Jihoon looks plenty beat up, bruises and cigarette burns and tiny cuts, but there’s a difference between _looking_ super beat up and actually being gravely injured. Jihoon sighs in a way that’s weirdly inexplicable.

“I’ve had worse.” Jihoon says (Jungkook believes him). He hugs the potted plant to his chest with his left arm, before reaching over and slotting their hands together with his right. His grip is both confident and shy, his fingertips barely brushing the back of his palm as if afraid to curl any closer, to take the final leap and just hold his hand properly. It’s a very Jihoon thing to do, thinks Jungkook, to be brave enough to make the first move but restrained enough to still try and keep a distance, even when he really doesn’t have to. At times like this, Jungkook does what he always does: He meets him halfway.

Jihoon’s palm is warm against his. Like this, even in enemy territory, Jungkook feels safe, as if Jihoon’s presence is enough to keep the bad guys at bay.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Jihoon says.

They walk out the door and into the world.

 

* * *

 

“It's all pretty shallow stuff.” Seokjin says, stepping back from where Jihoon is, perched on an ambiguously IKEA-like chair. “Nothing broken or torn, all we'd need is a ridiculous amount of gauze, disinfectant and bandages.”

“Told you,” Jihoon sighs, shifting awkwardly as Seokjin pops open his handy first aid kit and pulls out a shit-ton of gauze. “I've had worse.”

With everyone in their tiny five-person (or, well, five-minus-one because Taehyung still had an art final) subunit of a subunit present in the super secret backroom of Seokjin’s ritzy cafe, the atmosphere of the room feels less chic and more bleak. If Jihoon is uncomfortable with four strangers staring him down as another stranger patches him up, he doesn't show it. In fact, he seems more uncomfortable with someone actually treating his wounds than the whole secret agent staredown going on.

“I can literally feel your brain working from all the way here, Namjoon.” Seokjin says, dabbing antiseptic onto a cut on Jihoon’s cheek, “Just ask him what you want to ask already, jesus.”

Namjoon mumbles out something like ‘well I didn't want to be _rude_ ’, before clearing his throat and straightening his shoulders.

“So,” Namjoon says. There's a dramatic pause that Jungkook wishes would just end because it clearly serves no other purpose than reinforcing the fact that Namjoon is a dramatic fuck, “You’re T.E.M.P.E.S.T.”

“Yep,” Jihoon replies, matter of factly. “I'm T.E.M.P.E.S.T. Or rather I was. We haven't been a thing for a while now, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“What’s Tempest?” Jimin asks. The two of them share a Look™, because being part of the newer wave of recruits pretty much meant that they had no idea what the older members were referencing half the time. At this point, asking either Yoongi or Namjoon to explain old agent terminology is routine at best (it makes exposition easier, though- something the author is incredibly grateful for).

“T.E.M.P.E.S.T. was allegedly a very high-ranking unit way back when that was made up of a bunch of tech super-geniuses. They were the ones who created the carat cipher and the surveillance system it protected, but they all mysteriously died during a freak accident.” Yoongi pipes in, saying the name with such weight that it was impossible not to imagine it in capital letters with full stops (or periods, if you’re American) between each letter, “Though I’m sure some of that’s exaggerated.”

“I’m not exactly up to date with the latest spy rumours or whatever,” Jihoon says, “but the truth was that we were just five scared orphan boys stuck underground in a facility. We were pretty much taken out of orphanages and taught to code by the government. Was all we did for a good deal of our lives.”

“And the freak accident?” Yoongi asked.

“The problem with picking scared boys off the street is that no matter how hard you try to turn them into machines, they'll always remember what it means to be free.” Jihoon says. “We were the best back then, better than any other agent or government official could hope to be. Once we realised we didn't _have_ to work on the surveillance program, we stopped, deleted what we could overnight and put the remainder on lockdown. Changed all the codes and added more, made it near impossible for anyone to break it.”

“And then all five of you took created a freak accident that allowed you to escape.” Namjoon concludes. “Started anew.”

“After so many years, we just wanted to know what the sun felt like on our skins.” Jihoon says. The potted plant, now properly watered, is placed right under the window, sunlight hitting its battered leaves in a way that made it almost glow. Jihoon had placed it himself, fussed about it before Seokjin could even look at his wounds.

“So you just, what, casually faked your deaths?” Yoongi asks, brows furrowed, “It can't be that simple.”

“Disappearing is simple enough when you've spent a good deal of your life trying to stop other people from doing so.” Jihoon says, shrugging.

“Speaking of surveillance,” Jimin pipes in, “what was up with the cameras? Yoongi-hyung looked like he wanted to punch his laptop.”

“They were definitely working the entire time, and there weren’t any signs of any other outsiders hacking in either. Subunit M was sent out to comb through the place, and Agent Moon hasn’t reported anything going off yet too.” Yoongi says, “Either their security goons are even more incompetent than we originally thought, or something’s up.”

“It's true that JungCorp doesn't exactly hire the best goons, but they're not _that_ incompetent.” Jungkook says.

All of them just sit there, puzzled. While JungCorp had the makings of a very stereotypical, Doofenshmirtz-y kind of company, they were still an Evil Organisation, and every Evil Organisation had their standards. It would make sense for the cameras to stop working if Yoongi (or anyone else) had hacked into them, but they weren't. Whoever was behind the camera either wasn't there or was unconscious.

(As incompetent JungCorp’s goons were, the consequences were horrible if anyone defied orders. No goon would just let them go without a fight.)

Jihoon clears his throat. After thirty seconds of silence, Seokjin closes his first aid kit and sighs.

“You secret agents are always so constipated.” Seokjin says, sliding into the seat next to Namjoon’s, “Just say what you want to say, no one will mind.”

“What if,” Jihoon starts, his tone of voice cautious as if he was about to reveal a secret of the highest degree, “the person behind the camera wasn't there voluntarily?”

“It would make sense.” Namjoon says, scratching at his chin, “But if JungCorp’s got this person there against their will, why would they defy orders and let Jungkook and Unit M enter? I'd imagine the punishment would be worse than if they were a normal goon.”

“Unless…” Seokjin says, “Unless they saw something that made the coming punishment worth it.”

“I hope whatever they saw was worth it then.” Jimin says. “But if this theory’s true… wouldn't we have to try and stage a rescue or something? It doesn't seem right to leave them there.”

“It's just a theory at this point,” Namjoon says, “We'd need substantial evidence for us to make a move.”

There's yet another unknown emotion lurking in Jihoon’s eyes, a strange combination of sympathy, grim understanding and something else Jungkook can’t place. Jihoon seems to become more and more of an enigma as time ticks by, but he's alright with that. It’s only been two months- Life is a learning process, and he’ll be fine as long as they learn together, hand in hand.

“Call it instinct or whatever, but I have a feeling I'm right.” Jihoon says. It's a statement that would've come off as arrogant were it anyone else who said it, but for some reason it doesn't. It's another Jihoon thing: for him to be strangely humble no matter what’s coming out of his mouth. “One thing’s for sure, whoever's behind the camera’s trapped in a bigger, grander cage than I.”

From across the room, a phone rings (Namjoon had banished all electronics to the far table, citing a need to detox from technology and properly bond or whatever. Jungkook doesn't understand why Namjoon would even want to try and bond now with Jihoon looking like a bruised peach in the middle of the room). It's Epik High, one of their old songs. Yoongi, who'd been silent for the past minute or so, looks up, moving to stand.

“I'll get it hyung.” Jungkook says, getting up instead, “It's closer to me anyway.”

“Ah, no it’s fine-” Yoongi starts to say, but Jungkook is already up, heading towards the ringing phone.

The thing about having a weird spidey sense equivalent for danger is that it always kicks in at the most inappropriate of times, especially about things that aren't actually dangerous. What made things dangerous were the circumstances, not the actual physical thing, and after numerous occasions spent jumping at the smallest noise or tackling someone innocent just because he _felt_ they were doing something weird, he's managed to tune it out. Still, there's something still _there_ at the back of his mind, that brief flicker of unease as he walks towards the far table. It's not a pleasant feeling. After all that's happened in the past two chapters, all Jungkook all wants to do is walk Jihoon back to his apartment and hold his hand and maaaaybe kiss him at his doorstep. Leave the dramatics to Jimin, _please_ , Jungkook wants out for at _least_ the next three thousand words.

Unfortunately, life (i.e. the author’s brain) doesn't work that way. The author offers their condolences and would like to remind the reader that foreshadowing is an absolute _bitch_.

Jungkook picks up Yoongi’s phone from the table. He stares. Epik High continues to play on loop.  

“Yoongi-hyung.” Jungkook says. It feels like all time has stopped, the only thing continuing to run the ringing of the phone, over and over and over again. The words stick in his throat, but he forces them out anyway.

“Why does the heir of JungCorp have you on speed dial?” Jungkook asks.

The phone rings and rings and rings, until it doesn't. Jungkook doesn't understand.  


**(ONE) MISSED CALL**

_Jung Hoseok_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... so yes please expect the yoonseok sequel soon.
> 
> also I really like Shakespeare, The Tempest is great, this is ur weekly Shakespeare plug from me. speaking of plugs, go watch seventeen's latest comeback if you haven't already!!! it's so great, literally one of their best comebacks so far imo. 
> 
> honestly I'm still not super satisfied with how I wrote the chapter, but since I still have to work on the sequel to Stargazing with Lilies (and I'm the type who can't multitask when it comes to writing fic) I thought it better to just publish this first so I can start work on that. maybe once i get stuff for the yoonseok sequel sorted out, i'll come back here and see if I want to edit anything? rn it seems p much set in stone though.
> 
> also apologies to anyone who actually knows how to code/write scripts/hack, i have no idea how any of this works...

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to hmu at @sheenbeanbean on twitter, @genderqueerfuri on tumblr and @jellyprince on curiouscat.me!


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